Pathfinder - Practical Guide to Teamwork Feats

Last Updated: May 18th, 2015

Disclaimer

I will use content from the core rules, but will intentionally omit any content not published
on the official Pathfinder SRD due to the
unmanageable volume of non-SRD content, and the wildly varying quality of non-SRD content.
If you would like me to write handbooks for specific content not published on the official
SRD, please email me and I will consider it on a case-by-case
basis. I will use the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build
handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational.

Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances

Green: Good options.

Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character.

Temporary Note: Pathfinder Unchained and Occult Adventures were
both recently added to the SRD. I'm excited to explore them, and I am actively working
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Introduction

Many characters are created in a vacuum. Players often conceive, build, and run
their characters with little consideration for other characters in their party, and
at best might consider the roles of the other characters in the party when building
their own. Teamwork feats rely on coordination between players, and typically require
that multiple characters take the same feats in order to reap the benefits. It is
often difficult for players to justify a feat when they can only be guaranteed to gain
its benefits while their teammates are in place to cooperate.

Fortunately, many classes provide options for sharing teamwork feats which can
remove the need for multiple characters to take the same teamwork feats. With some
careful coordination, the party can share several groups of teamwork feats with each
other, thereby gaining the effects of considerably more feats than a character could
otherwise have.

Teamwork-Friendly Classes and Archetypes

Many classes and archetypes provide bonus Teamwork Feats, and many of those provide
a means to share those feats with your allies. Having even one character in the party
who can share Teamwork Feats can be a huge boon to the party.

Brawler (Exemplar):
Field Instruction allows the Exemplar Brawler to grant teamwork feats to allies for
a few rounds at a time. Combined with Martial Flexibility, this gives the Brawler
access to a dizzying number of options.

Cavalier:
The Cavalier gets bonus Teamwork Feats at 1st, 9th, and 17th level. The Cavalier can
share one (two with Master Tactician) of these feats one to five times per day for a
few rounds at a time. To get any interesting Teamwork Feats you will need to spend
your regular feats on Teamwork Feats.

Cavalier (Strategist):
The Strategist doubles down on the Cavalier's Teamwork Feats. Drill Instructor allows
the Cavalier to grant Teamwork Feats to allies for 10+ minutes at a time, which saves
you actions in combats, and saves daily uses of Tactician.

Fighter (Tactician):
The Tactician can select Teamwork feats as Fighter Bonus Feats, but doesn't have any
way to share them with allies.

Hunter:
The Hunter gains bonus teamwork feats every 3 levels, and the Hunter can change the
most recently selected teamwork feat on the fly. This is helpful for teamwork feats
which are situational, but which have prerequisites which you already meet. On top of
that, Hunter Tactics automatically gives the Hunter's Animal Companion all of the
Hunter's Teamwork Feats, giving the Hunter an easy option for teamwork.

Inquisitor:
The Inquisitor is a fantastic option for Teamwork Feat enthusiasts. In addition to
receiving free Teamwork Feats every 3 levels, the Inquisitor's Solo Tactics ability
allows the Inquisitor to benefit from Teamwork Feats even if allies don't have any.
On top of all of that, the Inquisitor can change their most recently selected Teamwork
Feat, opening up a lot of situational Teamwork Feats which you can't justify taking
as a permanent option.

Inquisitor (Sacred Huntsmaster):
In addition to the Inquisitor's existing Teamwork Feat abilities, the Sacred Huntsmaster
automatically grants all of their teamwork feats to their Animal Companion, automatically
granting the Inquisitor an ally with which the Inquisitor can cooperate, and leaving the
Animal Companion's small number of feat slots open for other things.

Paladin (Holy Guide):
The Holy Guide gets exactly one free teamwork feat, and can grant that feat (and only
that feat) to allies for a few rounds by spending one of the Paladin's very few uses
per day of Smite Evil. Because the Holy Guide gets this feat at 5th level, it's hard
to get anything really interesting to share with your allies.

Paladin (Holy Tactician):
The Holy Tactician gains a total of 5 bonus Teamwork Feats, and can share one Teamwork
Feat (any one known, not just the bonus feats) to allies. Because there is no duration,
you can set this once when you meet your allies, then change it for the rest of your
career as a swift action. This is incredibly powerful, especially if you have several
high level Teamwork Feats to share.

Slayer (Vanguard):
The Vanguard gets one teamwork feat at second level, and thus can't get anything even
remotely powerful. The Vanguard can then share this lousy feat once per day with their
allies, and can gain one additional use a time by wasting a Slayer Talent.

Warpriest (Divine Commander):
The Divine commander grants one bonus Teamwork Feat at 3rd level, long before you can
get anything interesting, and a second at 12th level. You can grant one of these feats
to your allies 1 to 3 times per day for a few rounds. The 12th level feat will allow
you to select from several fantastic options, and you can use it as a swift action,
but the limited uses per day make it hard to justify focusing on this ability.

Teamwork Feats

Allied Spellcaster:
Spell Penetration will be considerably more reliable. It's not often that multiple
spellcasters in a party know and prepare the same spells, so the extra benefits are
even less useful.

Improved Back to Back:
Even more situational than Back to Back, and you have to spend an action
to use it.

Broken Wing Gambit*:
This can be really great, especially if you like to draw attacks, but it's
somewhat hard to use. If you can get this to work reliably, this is one of
very few mechanics in Pathfinder which actively encourage enemies to attack
you over your allies. If you are your party's Defender, this can be a great
way to keep enemies focused on you instead of your allies.

Wounded Paw Gambit*:
Difficult to set up, but this can be very good if you have a ranged DPS
close enough to take advantage.

Combat Expertise

Pack Flanking:
Flank things while riding your Mount/Animal Companion. Requiring Combat
Expertise is annoying, but considering that this can be a guaranteed +2
to all of your attacks I think it's justified. This feat also allows you
to use Teamwork Feats which require flanking at the same as Teamwork Feats
which require that you be adjacent to your allies.

Coordinated Charge*:
Despite requiring 2 other teamwork feats, Coordinated Charge may be the best
Teamwork Feat. This allows all of your party's melee characters to charge at once,
and doesn't cut into your allies' full attacks. If you select a class which gives
you the ability to grant Teamwork Feats to your allies, this is a fantastic
option. Gives your allies Coordinated Charge during the surprise round, and whoever
gets the highest initiative charges and allows the rest of the party to charge at
the same time. If your enemy dies (likely), charge something else. Because the
rules don't specify in which order everyone gets to charge, I would resolve each
charge in initiative order for simplicity.

Enfilading Fire*:
This requires that at least one of your melee allies also take this feat, and if
they're flanking they can't benefit from this feat, which means that this feat is
useless for them. The +2 bonus isn't good enough to justify making one of your
allies waste a feat on this. Even if you can give them a feat, it's questionable
because your enemy still needs to be flanked for you to get the bonus.

Escape Route:
This might be nice for characters who move around a lot and draw lots of attacks
of opportunity, but at that point your ally needs to have Mobility and a decent
AC without relying on you.

Feint Partner:
This is really only useful if both of you have Sneak Attack, and few parties
have multiple characters with Sneak Attack.

Improved Feint Partner:
If you or your ally are good at flanking, this is a fantastic way to get
free attacks every round.

Lookout*:
The ability to take a full-round action during the surprise round is amazing. You
can do a lot of things with a full-round action, including using Coordinated Charge
to get all of your melee allies into melee so that they can make full attacks, also
during the surprise round.

Outflank*:
Great, especially if you have a two-weapon fighting melee rogue. If you use a weapon
with a high threat range (and you really should), the extra attacks of opportunity
can work out to a huge amount of free damage.

Pack Attack:
You need to start adjacent to an ally to use this, and if you're not already
flanking, you're probably trying to stay adjacent to use other Teamwork Feats.

Paired Opportunists*:
This pairs well with feats like Improved Feinting Partner, Outflank, and Seize the Moment which
grant your allies attacks of opportunity. The Opportunist Rogue Talent is also
a great option. Greater Trip won't work because it already provokes an attack
of opportunity.

Precise Strike*:
Perhaps the simplest Teamwork Feat, this is a great option for all of those
classes that get a free Teamwork Feat before they can qualify for anything good,
and can share that feat with their allies. The damage isn't muchm but it's easy
to use and it will always be helpful.

Point-Blank Shot

Coordinated Shot*:
This feat requires a melee character to waste a feat so that you can get
a lousy +1 bonus. Just take Weapon Focus.

Target of Opportunity:
If your party has multiple ranged DPS characters (such as an archer and
a spellcaster), this can get you a lot of free attacks. However, few
parties will be built so that this works every round.

Seize the Moment:
If you or your ally are built for critical hits, this can be a nice source of
free attacks.

Shake it Off:
Nice and reliable, and it works great if you get ambushed.

Intercept Charge*:
This is a fantastic ability for Defenders. It requires that whomever you
defend takes this feat (or that you give it to them), but it guarantees
that you can interpose yourself when enemies attempt to charge. Because
your ability to intercept charges depends on your move speed, be sure to
improve your move speed with items like Boots of Striding and Springing.

Tandem Trip:
If you like tripping, this is absurdly good. Rerolls work out to roughly a +5
bonus, and it makes your nearly immune to rolling a Natural 1. If you have an
ally who benefits from you tripping enemies (such as a melee Rogue), you can make
a very strong case for them to spend a feat on this.